Clinton victory set to unleash a ‘wave of cash’ into global markets

Original article by David Rogers, Glenda Korporaal, Michael Bennet
The Australian – Page: 19 & 32 : 8-Nov-16

The Australian sharemarket rallied on 7 November 2016, after a new FBI probe cleared US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over the use of a private email server. AMP Capital’s Nader Naeimi says investors are likely to reallocate cash holdings to higher-risk assets if Clinton wins the election. Meanwhile, Paul Donovan of UBS has warned that world trade and global capital flows could be disrupted if Donald Trump becomes president.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, UBS AG, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NIKKEI 225 INDEX, NZSX-50 INDEX, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

Credit won’t predict next crisis, but gives protection

Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 17 : 7-Nov-16

Alexander Funds Management MD Chris Black notes that credit markets anticipated the global financial crisis well before equity markets. He says the GFC was primarily a credit-driven event, but this will not be the case with the next financial market crash. He adds that credit will be a safer asset class when the next financial market downturn comes. Alexander Funds has delivered a return of 16.64 per cent since it was founded as Laminar in 2009, but Black cautions that investors should not expect returns similar to those in the years immediately after the GFC.

CORPORATES
ALEXANDER FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN

Ingham shares hatch to wary IPO market

Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 7-Nov-16

Inghams Group’s listing on the Australian sharemarket on 7 November is likely to be closely scrutinised by investors after the IPO had to be repriced. The stock has been issued at $A3.15 per share, compared with initial hopes of between $A3.57 to $A4.14. Bravura Solutions and the Charter Hall Long WALE REIT have also been forced to scale back the issue price of their stock. Some fund managers note that investor sentiment has changed in recent weeks, particularly with regard to IPOs.

CORPORATES
INGHAMS GROUP LIMITED – ASX ING, BRAVURA SOLUTIONS LIMITED – ASX BVS, CHARTER HALL LONG WALE REIT – ASX CLW, APOLLO TOURISM AND LEISURE LIMITED – ASX ATL, PENGANA EMERGING COMPANIES FUND, TPG CAPITAL LP, THE CARLYLE GROUP, PACIFIC EQUITY PARTNERS PTY LTD, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO, DICK SMITH HOLDINGS LIMITED, ANCHORAGE CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, INVESTORS MUTUAL LIMITED, AUTOSPORTS GROUP LIMITED – ASX ASG

ASX slips for a third day, US worry lingers

Original article by Jessica Sier
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 4-Nov-16

The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 0.1 per cent lower at 5,225.6 points on 3 November 2016. The All Ordinaries index declined 0.1 per cent to 5,306.5. Investors are concerned about the chaotic US presidential election. Shares in Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory rose 5.2 per cent to $A6.85 following the announcement of a profit of $A20.8 million in the six months to 30 September and a 10 per cent rise in revenue to $A325.9 million.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, WARRNAMBOOL CHEESE AND BUTTER FACTORY COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX WCB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

ANZ shrinks to reduce rising risks

Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 : 4-Nov-16

The ANZ Bank has announced a fall of 18 per cent in cash profit to $A5.9 billion for 2015-16. Return on equity fell to 12.2 per cent, from 13.8 per cent a year ago. The cost to income ratio for the year declined to 44.8 per cent. ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott said the bank reduced its workforce by 3,600 jobs over the year to 30 September 2016. The stock rose 0.6 per cent to $A27.35 on 3 November 2016.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

RBA likely to cut again but not in a hurry

Original article by Jessica Sier
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 3-Nov-16

Financial markets now consider that there is an eight per cent chance that the Reserve Bank of Australia will reduce official interest rates in December 2016. However, there is now seen to be a 36 per cent change that rates will be cut by May 2017. Michael Blythe of the Commonwealth Bank anticipates another rate cut during the June quarter, while Paul Dales of Capital Economics says there is potential for the next change in monetary policy to be an increase in the cash rate.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED

Trump’s surge spooks markets

Original article by Cameron Stewart, David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 10 : 3-Nov-16

Sharemarkets in Australia and Asia were sold down on 2 November 2016, after an ABC News/Washington Post poll showed that US presidential candidate Donald Trump now has a one percentage point lead over Hillary Clinton. The RealClear Politics average of polls also shows that Trump has significantly narrowed Clinton’s lead in the last week. Westpac economists have warned that a Trump victory could have a bigger impact on global financial markets than the UK’s Brexit referendum.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, NIKKEI 225 INDEX, HANG SENG INDEX, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, KOSPI INDEX, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT, REPUBLICAN PARTY (UNITED STATES), DEMOCRATIC PARTY (UNITED STATES)

ANZ’s Whelan will divest Asian bank stakes next

Original article by Lisa Murray
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 17 : 2-Nov-16

The ANZ Bank will further scale back its presence in Asia after securing a deal to offload some of its retail banking and wealth management assets in the region. Mark Whelan, the head of institutional banking, says ANZ is making progress on selling some of its minority stakes in four Asian banks. He says these stakes are deemed to be non-core assets, but he stresses that ANZ is "reshaping" its Asian operations rather than withdrawing from the region. ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott has signalled that institutional banking will be the focus of its Asian operations.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, SHANGHAI RURAL COMMERCIAL BANK, BANK OF TIANJIN COMPANY LIMITED, PT BANK PAN INDONESIA TBK, AMMB HOLDINGS BHD, DBS BANK LIMITED

Cashed-up fund cools on property

Original article by Daniel Palmer
The Australian – Page: 24 : 1-Nov-16

The Future Fund has posted a return of 1.5 per cent for the September 2016 quarter. Its cash holdings rose by 0.4 per cent to 22.1 per cent, compared with just 15.1 per cent for the same period in 2015. The sovereign wealth fund lifted its portfolio’s weighting toward equities by 0.6 per cent to 29.4 per cent, while its exposure to property and private equity fell. MD David Neal says the Future Fund is likely to maintain its risk-adverse profile. Its assets under management totalled $A124.65bn at the end of the quarter.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY, PORT OF MELBOURNE

Banks on S&P negative watch over hot property

Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 15 : 1-Nov-16

Factors such as rising household debt and residential property prices have prompted Standard & Poor’s to downgrade Australia’s economic risk trends. The firm has also downgraded the credit rating outlook of 25 local lenders to "negative". S&P downgraded the major banks’ rating outlooks to "negative" in mid-2016, but it has not yet made any further changes. However, their "AA-" credit ratings could be reviewed, particularly if Australia implements new global regulations regarding bank bailouts.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S CORPORATION, MACQUARIE BANK LIMITED – ASX MBL, BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN, BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA